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Who's coaching where in 2023? A guide to Volusia-Flagler's 16 high school football coaches

Chris Vinel, Daytona Beach News-Journal
·7 min read

Seven local high school football programs went through coaching changes this offseason.

Leaving jobs were: Deltona’s Jeff Smothers, Father Lopez’s Daniel Fish, Flagler Palm Coast’s Robert Paxia, Seabreeze’s Pat Brown, Trinity Christian’s Allen Baldwin and University’s Brian Kells.

Taking their places are: Matt Martin at Deltona, Matt Nasser at Father Lopez, Fish at Flagler Palm Coast, Lester Davis at Seabreeze, Bill Cosens at Trinity Christian and Justin Roberts at University.

Taylor’s Antuarn Williams (2011) and Spruce Creek’s Andy Price (2013) are the longest-tenured head coaches in the area. Only one other local leader started his current gig before the 2020 season.

So where is everybody?

Here is a look at each team’s coach ahead of the 2023 campaign.

Atlantic

Jerrime Bell is starting his third year at Atlantic.
Jerrime Bell is starting his third year at Atlantic.

Head coach: Jerrime “Squatty” Bell

Current job since: 2021

Coach factoid: Bell will call offensive plays this fall for the first time since arriving at Atlantic in 2021. He plans to stick with the single-wing scheme the Sharks ran the past two seasons. Prior to 2021, he worked as a special teams and defensive assistant at Treasure Coast for seven seasons. He attended Mainland, where he started on the d-line for three seasons, and is the cousin of current Bucs head coach Travis Roland.

DeLand

Rick Darlington has won three Florida state titles during his head-coaching career.
Rick Darlington has won three Florida state titles during his head-coaching career.

Head coach: Rick Darlington

Current job since: 2022

Coach factoid: Success happened immediately for DeLand after Darlington took the reins last year. The Bulldogs went 6-5 and won their first district title in a decade. It was just a continuation for Darlington, who made the playoffs all three years at his previous stop, Enterprise High in Alabama, and claimed three state titles before that at Apopka. His son, Wyatt, will be a senior for the Bulldogs this year.

Deltona

Matt Martin played at Deltona in the 2000s before working as an assistant at multiple schools for the last decade.
Matt Martin played at Deltona in the 2000s before working as an assistant at multiple schools for the last decade.

Head coach: Matt Martin

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Martin is a Deltona alum who comes to his old program after its best season (7-3) in a half decade. He lined up at tight end and defensive line for the Wolves and played one season of Division III ball at Greensboro College. In 10 years as an assistant coach, he spent time at as defensive coordinator at Mainland and Pine Ridge. Most recently, he worked as DeLand’s d-line coach.

Father Lopez

Matt Nasser recently moved back to Volusia County, where he grew up, after 18 years in Georgia.
Matt Nasser recently moved back to Volusia County, where he grew up, after 18 years in Georgia.

Head coach: Matt Nasser

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Nasser coached only one season of football in the last 20 years, but it was a good one. In 2018, he coordinated the defense for Frederica Academy in Georgia. That squad won a state championship and sent two players to Auburn on football scholarships. Before that, he was an assistant at Flagler Palm Coast in the early 2000s. Nasser is no stranger to Father Lopez, though. He went to school and played offensive tackle and linebacker there, graduating in 1988.

Flagler Palm Coast

Daniel Fish left one job in the area this offseason but accepted another.
Daniel Fish left one job in the area this offseason but accepted another.

Head coach: Daniel Fish

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Fish accepted the Flagler Palm Coast gig after three seasons in charge at Father Lopez. He went 14-14 overall, including a 6-5 record with a playoff berth last season. As a Georgia native, he played linebacker at Valdosta State before moving to Florida. The Bulldogs won a district championship last fall.

Halifax

William Bell is kicking off his third season at Halifax.
William Bell is kicking off his third season at Halifax.

Head coach: William Bell

Current job since: 2021

Coach factoid: Bell enters his third season at Halifax, his first head-coaching job. The Knights went 2-17 in his first two years, picking up their first two wins last fall. Bell previously served as Halifax’s offensive coordinator. He was on staff for the first playoff appearance in program history in 2020, when they finished 5-5.

Mainland

Travis Roland led the Bucs to their first title game since 2003 last fall.
Travis Roland led the Bucs to their first title game since 2003 last fall.

Head coach: Travis Roland

Current job since: 2021

Coach factoid: In his second year in charge at his alma mater last fall, Roland’s Bucs reached the 3S state championship game. It was their first finals appearance since 2003, when Roland starred as a team captain and Mainland grabbed its lone state championship. He is the school’s all-time single-season tackle leader. In 2019, the News-Journal ranked him as one of the 25 best Volusia-Flagler players in history. Before returning to the Bucs in 2021, he led Flagler Palm Coast to the playoffs four straight seasons. Mainland has made the playoffs 29 years in a row.

Matanzas

Matt Forrest, with an extensive college background, is now in Season 4 at Matanzas.
Matt Forrest, with an extensive college background, is now in Season 4 at Matanzas.

Head coach: Matt Forrest

Current job since: 2020

Coach factoid: Forrest was an assistant for four different Football Championship Subdivision programs in the 2010s. He worked at Murray State, Morehead State, Tennessee Tech and East Tennessee State before shifting to Creekside High School as an assistant and then Matanzas as head man for the last three years. The former DIII QB at Huntingdon College holds a 15-17 record with the Pirates. They run a fast-paced Air Raid offense.

New Smyrna Beach

John Wilkinson won four state championships before arriving at New Smyrna Beach.
John Wilkinson won four state championships before arriving at New Smyrna Beach.

Head coach: John Wilkinson

Current job since: 2018

Coach factoid: Wilkinson is now Volusia County’s third-longest-tenured head football coach. He has put forth only one losing season (4-5 in 2020) in his five years with the Barracudas. His overall record stands at 31-19. Before relocating to New Smyrna Beach, Wilkinson established himself as one of Florida’s most successful coaches. He won four state championships at Cocoa and also spearheaded the Tigers’ athletic department as athletic director.

Pine Ridge

Eric Poyner is looking for his first win as the Panthers' head coach.
Eric Poyner is looking for his first win as the Panthers' head coach.

Head coach: Eric Poyner

Current job since: 2022

Coach factoid: Poyner became a head coach in 2022 after 21 years as an assistant. It’s appropriate the opportunity came at Pine Ridge, where Poyner previously had been an offensive line coach and a wrestling and flag football coach. He spent five years at Lake Howell before taking the Panthers’ gig and also has worked for Edgewater, DeLand and Hagerty. He enters 2023 looking for his first win as a head coach.

Seabreeze

Lester Davis returned to his alma mater as head coach last spring.
Lester Davis returned to his alma mater as head coach last spring.

Head coach: Lester Davis

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Davis jumped from Mainland to its biggest rival in March. He is a Seabreeze alum who played linebacker for the Sandcrabs and later South Carolina State. Before spending last year as the Bucs’ strength and conditioning coach, Davis coached at three high schools in South Carolina. He will look to snap Seabreeze’s 12-game losing streak to Mainland, where he still has plenty of friends on the coaching staff.

Spruce Creek

Andy Price has more than two decades of experience as a head coach in Volusia County.
Andy Price has more than two decades of experience as a head coach in Volusia County.

Head coach: Andy Price

Current job since: 2013

Coach factoid: Price has enjoyed more than two decades of success as a head coach in Volusia County. First, he guided Warner Christian to 12 playoff berths and three state title games in 13 seasons at the helm. He was also the school’s athletic director. Then, after one season leading Titusville, he arrived at Spruce Creek in 2013 and has a 64-41 record in 10 seasons. The Hawks were 12-28 in the four seasons before Price took over.

Taylor

Antuarn Williams is the area's longest-tenured head football coach.
Antuarn Williams is the area's longest-tenured head football coach.

Head coach: Antuarn Williams

Current job since: 2011

Coach factoid: Williams, now the longest-tenured coach in the area, has been a staple at Taylor for the better part of 40 years. He graduated from the school in 1989 following an all-state career as a running back. He rushed for more than 4,000 yards on his way to playing at the University of North Carolina. In 1994, he returned to teach at the Pierson school and went through three separate stints as an assistant before scoring the top gig in 2011. He had one other year as a head coach — 2008 at Lighthouse Christian.

Trinity Christian

Bill Cosens is entering his first season in charge of the Eagles.
Bill Cosens is entering his first season in charge of the Eagles.

Head coach: Bill Cosens

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Cosens is a first-time head coach after taking over for Allen Baldwin (1-8 in one season). But he knows the program well. Cosens served as an assistant coach for the Eagles in 2016, and he works as an administrator at the school.

University

Justin Roberts spent the last nine seasons as an assistant at University before taking the reins this year.
Justin Roberts spent the last nine seasons as an assistant at University before taking the reins this year.

Head coach: Justin Roberts

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Even amid a coaching change, Roberts brings stability to the Titans. He worked under predecessor Brian Kells for nine seasons, most recently as offensive coordinator. University elevated him to head coach immediately after Kells stepped down in January. This is Roberts’ first football head-coaching job. The DeLand graduate and former Valdosta State quarterback was on staff for the Titans’ first playoff victory in program history in 2021.

Warner Christian

Vince Siravo is coaching the first 11-man football team at Warner Christian since 2019.
Vince Siravo is coaching the first 11-man football team at Warner Christian since 2019.

Head coach: Vince Siravo

Current job since: 2023

Coach factoid: Siravo is bringing back 11-man football at Warner Christian for the first time since 2019. The Eagles played eight-man ball last year and didn’t field a team in 2020 or 2021. After moving to Volusia County in 2020, Siravo had served as an offensive assistant at New Smyrna Beach. He spent two seasons as the head coach at Faith Christian Academy and the semi-pro Denver Titans in Colorado.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Meet Volusia-Flagler's 16 high school football coaches for 2023